Crowvus Book Blog

 For NaNoWriMo last year, I wrote a book called The Stonemason's Crown . This was in part inspired by a discovery I made whilst poring over a map. It was not an old map, but a map of old things using LiDAR technology. For Christmas, my sister got me a copy of that map, printed on metal and zoomed in on the very spot where my story was set. Maps give an amazing insight. Not only do they point out landmarks which are sometimes long gone and forgotten, they also show how people reacted with - and believed in - the world where they lived. Where would our imaginations be without etched sea serpents, or "Here Be Dragons" on the edges of these documents? Time was I would only read books which had a map in them. I've got a little bit more accepting now, but I still get a real buzz as a reader to find a beautiful map tucked into the opening pages of a book. My dad loves maps. Consequently, I have always found them fascinating. He has quite a collection, some which are hundreds...

Caledon has appeared many times. This story introduces Caledon's sixth incarnation... The Calling of Aonghas Caledon “There’s an evil abroad in the world,” croaked the minister from the front of the kirk. Aonghas heard him, but thought nothing of the words. He was not a covenanter. He was more inclined toward papist tendencies, but he had been employed as a bodyguard to Thomas Geddes, the man who now occupied the seat in front of him. And Aonghas went where the money was. He looked out the window and idly wondered what force would await them there. Surely, nothing could be as bad as Dalwhinnie. Men had lined up there, women too, with torches and farming implements to attack the small band of covenanters as they left the church. There had been a small skirmish, but no one had been killed. Aonghas and John had got Thomas Geddes to safety, and the pious man had continued northward. But the deeper they passed into the Highlands, the more tenacious the crowds became. Dornoch had been a ...

   This week for #HistFicThursdays, I'm delighted to once again be teaming up with  The Coffee Pot Book Club  for author  Gail Ward Olmsted 's blog tour! Today, I'm sharing an excerpt from her fabulous brand new release, Katharine's Remarkable Road Trip ! First of all, let's meet the book... In the fall of 1907, Katharine decides to drive from Newport, Rhode Island, to her home in Jackson, New Hampshire. Despite the concerns of her family and friends, that at the age of 77 she lacks the stamina for the nearly 300-mile journey, Katharine sets out alone. Over the next six days, she receives a marriage proposal, pulls an all-nighter, saves a life or two, crashes a high-society event, meets a kindred spirit, faces a former rival, makes a new friend, takes a stroll with a future movie mogul, advises a troubled newlywed, and reflects upon a life well lived; her own!  Join her as she embarks upon her remarkable road trip. Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1830-190...

 I'm not a nature writer - I don't know nearly enough to pass myself off as one! But, as this month marks the #30DaysWild campaign, I thought I'd take you on a guided tour of some of my own observations of the natural world and how they impacted on my historical writing... First of all, there was that  walk which led to the creation of Caledon . Yes, I've blogged about it so often I won't repeat it all again! But there are things in nature which capture your imagination. The Big Burn waterfall was one of those things for me. Writing the discovery which James made was easy to do because it was just how I had felt. Here it is: Somewhere, only a short distance from him, the sound of a waterfall could be heard, both heavy and gentle in a manner which made his head throb even more. It was the hard work and efforts of these falls which had carved out the ravine where he lay. The trees which had broken his fall on his way down, clung to the sheer sides and gave the April s...